Broom shield



Och 1970 E. MGCAFFRAY, JR 3,535,

BROOM SHIELD Filed Sept. 5, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 V X W/W ,1 H mm I171! mmnm FIG. I

Oct. 27, 1970 MccAFFRAx JR 3,535,727

BROOM SHIELD Filed Sept. 5, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I5 l5 HIIHIHIIIIHII IIIIIIHI .5-

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INVENTOR United States Patent 3,535,727 BROOM SHIELD Edmund McCalfray, Jr., 2800 Sisson St., Baltimore, Md. 21211 Filed Sept. 5, 1968, Ser. No. 757,595 Int. Cl. A46b 3/00 US. Cl. 15-168 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A broom structure having a molded plastic sew band 7 This invention relates to brooms and more particularly to brooms of the type made up of a bundle of straws or relatively stiff fiber elements bound together and fastened to a handle and in which the upper portion of the bundle is tightly compressed and held in such condition by a sew band comprising circumferential loops and through stitchings to securely hold the fibers in substantially rigid condition with the lower ends of the fibers projecting free and flexible to form the sweeping end of the broom.

Brooms of this general type have been made in the past by bundling a great number of fiber elements about a handle and fastening the bundle to the handle by a tight wrapping of wire about the upper ends of the fibers surrounding the handle and holding the bundle tightly compressed somewhat below the handle by a number of individual circumferential wrappings of twine each individually tied and finally by stitching extending around the wrapping and transversely through the bundle there by rendering the upper portion of the bundle substantially rigid and securely fastening the fibers in the bundle and the bundle to the handle.

The steps involved in manufacturing brooms of the above type are not only time consuming but require special skill on the part of the operators as the separate circumferential wrappings must be wound with just the right tension to properly compact the upper part of the broom body to properly hold the individual fibers in place but yet not too tight as to cut through the fibers. In addition the separate circumferential wrappings must be reasonably uniformly spaced to produce a neat and salable product.

Applicant has, to a great extent, eliminated the difficulty of achieving proper tension in the circumferential binding means and in obtaining proper spacing thereof by substituting for separate circumferential twine wrappings, bands or loops of molded plastic material. Similarly the problem of achieving uniform spacing for the loops has been solved by molding a number of such loops as a unit held in proper spaced relation to each other by one or more side bands extending transversely of and connecting several loops.

In using the molded integrally connected loops the bundle, after being connected to the handle, is compressed and the unit of integrally connected loops is slipped over the compressed bundle, after which the compression on the bundle is released. The loops are then in properly spaced position on the bundle ready for through stitching and under proper tension.

It is evident that the method of assembly when using applicants molded loops is simpler and results in an improved and more uniform product over the old wrapped twine loop method.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to produce a broom of improved quality and which may be produced by a simpler method of manufacture.

It is another object to produce a broom of improved appearance.

Still another object is to produce a broom which is more durable especially in the region where it is apt to be struck against furniture.

The above and other objects and advantages will become more apparent as this description proceeds and reference is had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, in which like reference characters are used to designate like parts and in which,

FIG. 1 is a side view of a broom incorporating my new invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one form of plastic sew band before it is placed on a broom;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a modified form in which an integral cap is formed as a part of the sew band;

FIG. 4 is a view of a modified form of integral sew band and cap for a slightly different shaped broom head; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 of a modified form with slightly different spacing of the loops in the sew band and a slightly different cap.

Referring to the drawing in more detail and especially FIG. 1 thereof, the broom head generally indicated at 10 is composed of a bundle of straws or fibers 11 surrounding the handle 12 and extending downwardly therefrom. The straws are secured to the handle by a tight wrapping 13, usually of wire, from below which they extend outwardly and downwardly as is well known in this art.

It is customary in brooms of this type to provide the upper portions of the broom head, below the handle with some means for binding and holding the bundle of straws in a somewhat compacted mass with the lower ends extending free below the holding means to form the sweeping portion of the broom.

The holding means in applicants broom is made in the form of a number of spaced loops 14 held in proper spaced relation by one or more integral side bands 15. This holding means is preferably molded as a unit from a semi-rigid plastic and forms a cage-like element as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing. This element is placed on the broom head and holds the straws securely together.

Stitching 16 extending around the loops 14 and transversely through the straws of the head hold the whole assembly securely together.

FIG. 3 shows a modified form of the device. In this form the cage like element formed of the loops 14 and side bands 15 is further provided with a cap 17 molded integrally with the top band. This cap completely covers the top portion of the broom head and protects the straws in this region from injury of impact with objects of furniture and the like.

FIG. 4 shows another modified form of combined sew band and cap. In this case the sew band is made for a broom of the circular head type instead of the flat head type. Again in this form, the loops 14' are held in proper spaced relation by side bands 15 and the cap 17 is formed integrally with the side bands. The entire assembly in this form is generally shaped to fit the shape of broom on which it is to be used. Obviously it may be fastened to the broom head by the same type cross-stitching as employed in the forms of FIGS. 1 and 3.

The form shown in FIG. 5 is substantially the same as that of FIG. 3 as it too employs a cap 17" formed integrally with the integral loop and side band portion. In this form however the cap 17 is surmounted by a frusto conical top portion 18 to completely enclose the wire wrappings fastening the handle to the broom head. In addition this form shows unequal spacing for the loops 14 which may be employed for structural and/or appearance reasons under certain circumstances.

Having thus described several preferred embodiments of my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A broom comprising (a) a handle;

(b) a broom head consisting of a bundle of fiber elements surrounding the handle and fastened thereto and extending downwardly therefrom;

(e) a sew band of molded plastic material surrounding the broom head below the fastening of the same to the handle, said sew band having a plurality of narrow loops held in predetermined spaced relation by at least one side band extending between and across the loops and formed integrally therewith; and

(d) stitching extending around the loops and through the bundle of fiber elements to fasten the loops and fiber elements together.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 52,330 1/1866 Short 1517l 61,774 2/1867 Stroud 15l7l 120,122 10/1871 Subers et al 15-168 1,429,171 9/1922 Shipman 1517O 3,346,902 10/1967 leventhal 15l71 3,364,512 1/1968 Yamashita et al. 15-248 XR PETER FELDMAN, Primary Examiner 

